Planing to buy a 97 740iL, what to look for

[ahmed_wasim]

Hi,

I am planning to buy a 97 740iL with 112k on it. I have test driven the car and it drives nice except for a little noise (kind of tire noise, I dont know how to explain it). The guy I am buying from has the car for only 3 months and dont have any service records. He bought it from carmax and has their inspection report.

The AC doesn't seems to blow as cold as it should. I'll have it checked by BMW in couple of days. BMW charges $105 for pre-buy inspections. What are the specific things I should have it checked for. The car was owned in PA, I tried to get service history from them but they don't keep the record if last service was more than 2 years old. I checked with BMW in my area and they have only changed one lock module on the car. If I cant find the service record, is the car still worth buying after BMW inspection.

The person is asking $8000.00 for the car, is it a good price?. What should I expect in maintenance cost per year. Normally how long the engine and tramission will last.

Regards,
Wasim.

 

[Big Daddy]

Over here on the west coast that car retails for between 14 and 15k, however you might be able to find it for as low as 10k, so it does sound like a good deal. I would spring for the pre-inspection as it could save you well over $105.00 in the long run.

I would be extremely concerned about a three month owner wanting to unload a car, what did he discover that is need for immediate repair? And he has no service records, so he either did not get them from the previous owner, or he is hiding something. BMW NA can tell you all about the service of the vehicle, as they keep all the service records. Lastly having the service records is no guarantee of anything, just shows the previous owners stayed on top of service and problems, therefore if the inspection comes out ok, I would not worry about the records.